A plug connector part of this type comprises a plug housing that has at least one plug-in portion that can be connected to a mating plug connector part by plugging in an insertion direction so as to contact the plug connector part electrically with the mating plug connector part.
A plug connector part of this type may for example be formed as a charging plug for electrically charging a battery of an electric vehicle. In this case, the plug connector part may for example be connected via an electrical supply line to a charging station and be intended for insertion into a charging socket of an electric vehicle, in such a way that, when the plug connector part is connected up, charging currents can be transmitted from the charging station to the electric vehicle so as thus to charge the battery of the electric vehicle.
To charge electric vehicles, fully automatic or semi-automatic charging devices are increasingly being made use of nowadays. In charging devices of this type, the plug connector part is not plugged manually to an associated mating plug connector part (at the electric vehicle), but instead the plug connector part is brought toward the mating plug connector part automatically using an electromechanical assembly and is brought into engagement with the mating plug connector part by plugging.
These fully automatic or semi-automatic charging devices require the position of the mating plug connector part on the vehicle to be detected with sufficient precision, for example using an optical sensor system, in such a way that the plug connector part can automatically be brought toward the mating plug connector part and be brought into engagement with the mating plug connector part. Position detection of this type, however, is only possible with limited precision. In addition, axis detection for placing the plug connector part on the associated mating plug connector part in an axially parallel manner is difficult. However, if the axes of the plug connector part and the mating plug connector part deviate from one another when a plug connector part is placed on an associated mating plug connector part, this can lead to contacts of the plug connector part and of the mating plug connector part being placed on another with a lateral offset or even with an angular offset, and this can lead to tilting of the plug connector part on the mating plug connector part and thus to considerable strains on the plug connector part and on the mating plug connector part, and in particular even on the electrical contacts thereof.
Strains of this type may also occur if there is a change in position of the vehicle relative to the charging station during a charging process, which may be accompanied by a change in position of the plug connector part relative to the mating plug connector part. Changes in position of this type may for example occur when the vehicle is loaded and unloaded and the vehicle rises or falls as a result.
There is thus a need for a plug connector part that makes positional and angular deviations relative to a mating plug connector part possible to some extent but at the same time can securely and reliably be brought into engagement with an associated mating plug connector part for electrical contacting.
In a plug connector part known from DE 10 2010 035 868 B3, plug contacts are received in a floating manner on a contact carrier. In addition, the contact carrier is arranged in a floating manner on a housing, in such a way that positional and angular deviations can be compensated during plugged connection to a mating plug connector part.